


Almost Human

by Creedmes



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Canon Related, Friendship, Gen, Season 2, between episodes canon divergence situation, drama?, fear of not being accepted anymore, kind of?, ooc possibility
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-07
Updated: 2018-12-07
Packaged: 2019-09-13 18:24:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,599
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16897674
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Creedmes/pseuds/Creedmes
Summary: Coming to terms with his new Galran heritage means that Keith has doubts that his friends will accept him for who he truly is now





	Almost Human

**Author's Note:**

> This idea came to me two days ago from a song I heard and I just had to write it. Even though this started out with a vague idea of some song lyrics, I accidentally skewed away from the original idea and it wound up being whatever this is XD Sorry if it's not that great because I just had to get it out of me and posted before I decided to abandon it. If I missed any tags, please let me know. I really don't understand what to tag this as and will fix it if there is anything I may have missed.
> 
> And if there are any moments where characters seem OOC, please don't get mad at me for it. I'm still new to fanfiction writing and am still learning the ropes with this whole thing, okay?!
> 
> I'm also on [tumblr](https://creedmes.tumblr.com) and [twitter](https://twitter.com/creedmes)

His heritage shouldn’t determine his worth. Now that Keith knew where he actually came from, he felt like he was worth less than nothing. It was going to be hard to reset his mind so he can remember that just because he’s not really a human anymore, it didn’t mean he had lost value in his own self-worth. When he and Shiro came back to the Castle of Lions after their mission to meet with the Blade of Marmora for the first time, he felt the strain—that disconnecting feeling that told him he was different now. He didn’t feel different on the inside, but he knew he was. He wasn’t sure how Shiro felt about his newly learned Galran lineage, but everyone else on the ship saw Keith in a newer, less pleasant light when it had been revealed.

It wasn’t his fault he was born from a Galran whom he never knew. It wasn’t his fault that he didn’t have a choice in where his biological parents came from. He was forced into existence under a channel of coincidental circumstances that just so happened to line up perfectly for him to be created. Even though everyone and everything was made up of the same stardust and matter that drifts all across the universe, he knew that there was something bad in the batch that was used to make him.

He wanted to hate himself for being part Galran now. Keith wished that he could go back in time and prevent his father from having contact with a Galran. But if he did that, he wouldn’t exist now and he didn’t think he’d like the idea of ending his existence because he didn’t agree with how he came to be. His mind was flooded with rash thoughts and he wanted nothing more than to put this all behind him and move on. He was conflicted because he wanted to move on and to also alter the past to prevent this from happening.

Keith sat alone in his room with his luxite blade. It had reverted back into to the dagger it normally was after he managed to figure out how to transform it while in the safety of his bedroom. Whatever he had done to awaken the true sword back at the base still left him with questions and zero answers. Typical of the Blade of Marmora to tell him close to nothing about their organization or about him being part Galra now.

With his thumb grazing over the alien emblem on the handle, Keith stared at his reflection in the blade. He looked the same as before. His skin was pale and his eyes were that same grayish-purple color. His hair hadn’t changed. Keith whipped his head back so the bangs could move off his forehead even though the hair found its original spot like he hadn’t just tried to move it out of the way. This knowledge he now had of himself made him feel like he wasn’t himself anymore.

Watching himself blink in the blade’s reflection, Keith frowned. If he hadn’t brought this knife with him everywhere he went—even to the Marmoran base where the members knew it was on his person when they said no weapons were to be brought over—then maybe none of this would have happened. But because he couldn’t find the will in himself to leave the knife behind on the castleship in his sparse bedroom, everything was different for him now and he can’t go back to change the past. It was his fault for bringing the knife with him and having the Blade members sense it. And it was his fault for taking Kolivan up on the challenge of Knowledge or Death to find out how he wound up with such a weapon in his possession.

With the knowledge of finally knowing where he came from, realizing that he never really felt like he fit anywhere on Earth, it all made sense to him now. Awful sense. He was partially an alien living in a world he had once thought to call home. Now that he and the team knew he had Galran blood coursing through his veins, Keith grimaced at the thought of being disliked again.

He picked up his legs to lie down on his bed to stare at the ceiling. With his blade tucked underneath his pillow, and his hand still holding onto the handle to ensure he’ll never leave without it again, Keith let out a deep breath. He glared at the nothingness above him and thought about how everyone had taken to learning about this new information regarding him.

It was hard to tell what Shiro had thought of him since the man didn’t really seem all that affected by the news. He was the first of the group to learn about it since he was there to witness it, but he acted like it was completely normal. Like nothing about this could change his opinion on how he viewed Keith. There wasn’t anything going on between them as far as Keith could tell. Shiro didn’t give him the cold shoulder or made a conscious effort to be a couple feet away from him when they boarded the Red Lion to return after their journey from the base. Even though they’ve been dealing with Zarkon and the Galran empire for a handful of months now, Keith was relieved to know that Shiro didn’t see him differently after Keith finished the Blade of Marmora’s test.

But that reassurance of everything feeling all right with where he came from left Keith the moment they flew the Red Lion into its appropriate hangar. After exiting and meeting up with the other paladins, the princess, and Coran upon their return, Keith knew it was going to go a completely opposite direction. And it unfortunately had.

******

Lance was the first one to walk up to the Lion once Keith and Shiro walked down the platform to exit the opening. He had asked an avalanche of questions, wanting to be one of the first to know about what had happened during their trip. Who were the Blades? Could they be trusted? What took you guys so long? How did the test go? Of course he’d be the one to be the most curious since he had hinted about wanting to go with Shiro, but things took an unexpected turn when Shiro said Keith was going to go with him instead. So, Lance’s heightened curiosity made the sense now that Keith realized it for what it was.

Keith walked past Lance without giving him a cursory glance of acknowledgement. Tugging off his helmet and holding it by his side, Keith nudged his way through the group to try and make his way to his room to retire for an hour or so. He wanted to get some rest since the trials had worn him out. He thought he was in the clear to avoid conversation when someone’s hand reached out and held onto his free arm. Whoever it was, he they were keeping him from escaping into solitude like he had wanted.

Turning back, Keith saw Princess Allura holding onto his wrist with a soft smile on her face. Her blue eyes seemed to smile as well, and he couldn’t imagine how she would react once she found out the truth. She didn’t say anything as they all waited for him to give them the answers they’re looking for. Well, almost everyone. Lance had sidled up to Shiro to pester him to see if he was willing to give him answers since Keith ignored him. And from the look on Shiro’s growing annoyance, Lance wasn’t going to get any luck bothering him as well.

“So, how did it go?” Allura asked after a tick. Since Keith wasn’t going to say anything first to debrief them, so she might as well get the conversation started by turning the wheels. She released her grip on his wrist and they both let their arms fall to their sides. “Did you learn about whatever it was you were searching for?”

“I did,” he plainly said. Not wanting to give away too much information, Keith tried to tell them that he was tired after the trials and wanted to go to bed. But everyone was awfully persistent in wanting to know about what it was he had learned.

“What sort of test did you have to undergo?” Hunk asked. “Was it like fighting the gladiators in the training deck?”

“Did you get to try out any cool technology or was it a trial of wits?” Pidge chimed in.

“How did you manage to figure out where to go?” Coran pondered with a finger to his chin. “Shiro kept us briefed on the matter while you were taking up the challenge. He told us that with every room you entered, there was an additional Marmoran to fight against. How in the galaxy did you realize to go through the correct door after so many wrong attempts?”

“Alright,” Keith shouted over everyone, “I get it. You’re all curious. But I’m tired and I don’t want to talk about it right now.” He spun on a heel to make for the door to leave the hangar where Red was located. He casually threw over his shoulder, “I just want to be alone, okay? It was a long challenge and I don’t want to talk about it right now.”

“Gee, sorry for wanting to know what happened,” Lance said in a whiny tone.

Keith stopped to glare back at the blue paladin, but it was a fruitless effort. A waste of time since Lance wasn’t perturbed by something as simple as a nasty look. Looking back at everyone, Keith only counted five heads. Where did Shiro just go? Relaxing his face—not realizing he had ticked up one corner of his mouth to bare his teeth in disgust—he searched around for the missing paladin. Everyone took note of his expression and followed his eyes to see where he was staring. They soon put two and two together to realize Shiro wasn’t here He was here just a second ago. Where’d he go?!

Before anyone could think to find it in their voice to call out for him, the sound of feet thumbing down the walkway to exit the Red Lion’s mouth caught their attention. Keith watched as Shiro slowly came into the bright overhead lights of the hangar room with something in his human hand. How could Keith forget something so important that he accidentally left it in the lion? He must have been thinking about everything that had happened to him to accidentally leave it unattended in his lion.

Shiro didn’t look at anyone as he approached Keith to hand him his still transformed blade. He didn’t know how to revert it back, so it remained as a sword for now. Kolivan and the other blades hadn’t told him much about how to get it to go from one form to the other, so it’ll be a learning curve for Keith to figure out on his own. Hopefully the Blade members will be more forthcoming if Keith decided to contact them so that he can learn more about them and their organization.

Holding out the sword to him, Shiro waited until Keith accepted it. Keith couldn’t find it in himself to look at Shiro as he took the sword back. But he had made a mistake in looking past Shiro’s shoulder when he reached for the weapon since Pidge and Lance looked right at him with skeptical matching expressions.

“Where did that sword come from?” Pidge asked while she adjusted her glasses with her thumb and forefinger. She spoke with an curious voice with a hand on her hip as well. The flash of light reflected off her lenses glared at Keith and he blinked before the colorful spots could mess with his vision.

The group gathered around Shiro to peek above and around him to get a glimpse of the new weapon now in Keith’s hand. Hunk leaned in over Shiro’s right shoulder with Lance and Coran fighting over the left. Allura and Pidge stood to Keith’s left where Hunk was standing. They all had curiosity in their eyes. When Allura tried to reach her hand out to touch the blade, Keith yanked it away before she could let her hand graze against it.

“Keith, where did you get this weapon?” Allura watched him with a strange look on her face. She looked as if she had to be wary about such a weapon in such close proximity to everyone. Was it possible she could sense that it didn’t belong here? “The marking on the handle . . . you got this from the Blade of Marmora, didn’t you?”

“W-what, like a prize? A sign of victory when you were able to beat the trials?” Hunk said from behind Shiro’s shoulder. He stood up on tiptoes and leaned his face over the man’s robotic arm to get a closer look. Squinting at the sword, Hunk nodded and said, “Yeah, it looks like the symbol of those Blade guys. When their leader came on the screen, we saw that same emblem in the back. What does it mean, Princess?”

“It means that this probably belongs to those Galrans,” she answered him with a dead tone. She took a step back for her own safety and glared at Keith. When he looked up at her, she told him, “You must return the sword. Who knows if they planted a tracker on it. I won’t have this weapon on my ship.”

“It’s my sword, Allura.” It was Keith’s turn to take a step back now. He relaxed his arm so that the sword’s tip could point toward the ground. He may have the skill and technique necessary to use such a weapon thanks to his bayard having the ability to transform into one as well, but it still felt foreign and heavy in his hand. “It used to be my blade . . . but after I finished the trials and tried to give it to the Blades since they weren’t going to let us leave with it, it changed. It turned into this.” Keith made a vague hand motion regarding the sword to indicate as much. “Once they realized that it belonged to me, they said I could keep it and then we left.”

“How did it change?” Lance questioned. He rambled about if any of this made sense to anyone else. When no one was able to come up with a plausible hypothesis, they all remained silent. Even Pidge was at a loss for words at the moment.

“Keith,” Shiro spoke up. They all brought their eyes up to acknowledge the paladin. Shiro shook his head and finally let his hands move up toward his head to take off his helmet. Once it released him, he held onto the helmet with both hands to give him something to hold onto. He didn’t look at anyone to say, “You should tell them the truth. It won’t do anyone any good if you keep this a secret. If they have to learn the hard way about what you are now, it will only make things worse.”

“What are you talking about?” Lance lowered himself from peeking over Shiro’s body and hopped back a step. Shiro turned to look at Lance, but the blue paladin didn’t say anything else after that.

“That’s not going to happen, Shiro. It’s no one’s business, so why bother telling them?” Keith wanted to glare at his fellow paladin, but he forced himself to keep his emotions and expressions in check. He didn’t want to upset anyone, but everything going on so far wasn’t going the way he thought it would.

Keith stared at the floor but he could still sense Shiro turning back to look at him again.

“Keith, they should know about this. It’s better to tell them now rather than let them find out about it later.”

Lips curling into a grimace, teeth bare now for anyone to see, Keith mumbled something underneath his breath. No one could hear what he had muttered, and they pressed him for what it was. He mumbled again, a little bit louder, but still just below a whisper. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Allura cautiously approach him to see if she could catch whatever it was he was trying to say. Keith closed his eyes and swallowed down any second thoughts down. He desperately wanted to bail on this and just hide in his room for a little bit. If anything, he should be able to tell them when he’s ready to talk about it Not when they just came back from a mission and he’s dead tired!

Keith sucked in a breath and steeled himself for whatever might happen. He hoped that after admitting this new truth to them, maybe they can look past their collective thoughts regarding all Galra to realize that maybe not all of them are bad. If the Blade of Marmora are a band of Galrans who want to overthrow the empire and rid the universe of Zarkon and his thirst for power, then maybe everyone can realize that there are still some good Galra left.

“According to Kolivan,” Keith whispered. He opened his eyes to stare at the sword that was still in his hand. The light from above reflected off the shine of the blade and it blinded his eye for a tick. He felt his other hand curl around the helmet he still held against his hip, feeling his fingers hook underneath the opening of the helmet. Keith took in one last steady breath before saying, “I was able to awaken the blade so that it could turn into the sword you see now because I have . . . Galran blood in my veins.”

He glared at the floor when no one made a sound. Great. Just when he thought they might have finally accepted him as a real member of the team rather than the lone wolf that he is, he might as well have lost them forever because of this. He stole a glance to quickly scan their expressions after a few ticks of silence. Every face besides Shiro’s was shocked and surprised. When he reached Allura’s face, he didn’t like what he was greeted with.

She was angry. Well, maybe not exactly angry. More like she was deep in thought with her brows furrowed low. Contemplating on trying to figure out what any of this meant. Could she trust him now? Was it possible to believe a word he’s said at all now that she knows he’s part Galran? Whatever she was thinking, Keith didn’t want to hear about it.

He let out the breath he held and spun on his heels. He didn’t listen to their objections of wanting him to stay so they could talk about it more. He wasn’t in the mood to talk about anything right now. He was tired and his bedroom was his only safe place to go. It doesn’t matter if they don’t want to accept him for his true lineage. All that mattered to Keith was that he finally knew where he came from.

******

It wasn’t his fault he was born like this. Keith let out a stuttered breath as he watched the smooth ceiling above his bed. There weren’t any odd shapes, lines, or cracks to busy his mind from thinking about what had happened a couple hours ago. So far, no one had made the effort to come in and check on him; to see how he’s doing. Everyone was probably busy letting this whole ordeal process and he was completely fine with them leaving him alone to let these crazy thoughts run rampant in his mind. Those thoughts bounced and dashed all around in his head and soon they found themselves diving deep within his chest to fester and grow like poison ivy. It hurt to know that he didn’t have anyone coming around to check and see if he was doing okay, but it was also a relief that he didn’t have to show any weakness to anyone. It was like a contradiction he wasn’t prepared for. He wanted someone to pop in and talk with him, but he also wanted to be alone right now.

What did it matter to him what they thought anyway? He was just here because of a coincidence. If Lance, Pidge, and Hunk weren’t around when he went to rescue Shiro after his pod crashed on the Garrison property, would they even be where they all were right now? Piloting mechanical lions that formed into a super weapon that could potentially be the universe’s only hope to prevent an incredibly violent and large Galran empire from taking over the entire universe as they knew it? If all of the lions were some type of sentient beings who only deemed very specific people of being worthy enough to control them, then it might as well have been a chance that Keith won the lottery there. Of all the people and races in the world, he’s the lucky guy that gets to be part of something for the greater good.

Keith frowned at that. So what if they hated him now. He sat himself up and pulled his hand out from underneath his pillow. Taking his blade that was still in his hand, he shoved it into the sheath strapped behind his back. Even if the world depended on them to protect everyone and everything from the Galra, as far as the team was concerned, there was only one paladin for the Red Lion and it was Keith. If they wanted to find a new paladin, then they might have to get started on searching for a replacement. But for now, he’ll hold onto that title until his final breath is taken. There’s no way he was going to let it go just because they don’t like where he came from.

Marching out of his room and down the hall, Keith made his way for the lounge area. He walked through the sliding door to find everyone—surprisingly even Allura and Coran—sitting around or leaning against the wall. They were talking to each other but stopped when he entered the room. His hands curled into fists by his sides, Keith stood his ground and stared at them all. He caught Shiro’s eyes watching him to his right but he didn’t linger on Shiro for long.

“If you guys don’t like me anymore because of what I told you earlier, then tell it to my face. But I’m not going to leave since I’m the only red paladin you have for Voltron. If you don’t want me to be a paladin anymore, then you might as well kill me because I won’t go without a fight.”

“Keith, what on earth are you talking about?” Hunk stood up from his spot on the U-shaped couch to slowly walk up to the fuming boy. Keith didn’t waver from his stance as Hunk came up to him. Unsure what to do, Hunk slowly raised a hand to settle it onto Keith’s shoulder. “Man, I don’t know what’s going on with you, but I just want you to know that we weren’t thinking about replacing you. I don’t know where all of that just came from.”

Lance launched himself up from lying down on the couch. He spun around and climbed over the couch and up to the level where Hunk and Keith stood. Lance sauntered over to them without any fear of being yelled or slashed at with a hidden blade despite how upset Keith was at the moment. Without anything to scare the Cuban boy away, Lance sidled up to Keith and wrapped an arm around him in a friendly gesture.

“Listen, I don’t know where you got that ridiculous idea, but we weren’t thinking about excommunicating you. I mean, we’re all still a bit shocked with the news, but we aren’t going to get rid of you because you’re apparently part Galran now.”

Keith shrugged Lance off and stepped around him and Hunk so they wouldn’t suffocate and surround him. He wasn’t sure what to make of any of this. He didn’t want to hear any of this but he reasoned with himself that he brought it on without realizing it. He didn’t know how to take their attempts of reassurance. Keith didn’t want to be touched and hugged right now. But deep inside, the reassurance from them was nice to hear even though he’ll break his own arm before ever admitting it. His tightened fists relaxed at least by his sides.

“Keith, it’s better to own up to who you really are,” Shiro said. Everyone in the room, including Allura who sat on one end of the couch with a glower and her arms crossed looked up to listen to what he had to say. Once all eyes were on him, Shiro didn’t falter or stutter with his words to give a short pep talk. He closed the gap between Keith and himself to invade Keith’s preferred personal space. Keith welcomed his presence. “The first step to understanding your worth is realizing that you have to accept how you came to be. Some things about your past and lineage might not be all that great and happy—it almost never is with anyone—but it shapes you into the person you are right now. And if part of your existence means being part Galran, then you should at least acknowledge it as a fact. You can ignore it if you want, but owning up to your own being is important.”

“And don’t worry yourself into thinking we were looking into finding a new red paladin or killing you to free up the spot,” Pidge said, lifting her nose out of one of the many books she always seemed to have it buried in. “As far as anyone is concerned, there’s only ever going to be one red paladin of Voltron and his name is Keith.”

Unsure about what to do with himself now that he’s hearing all of this, Keith shifted and crossed his arms in front of his chest. It was touching of everyone to try and reassure him, but he still felt like he wasn’t exactly certain that they all cared about him to make sure he’ll stay. With everything that’s been going on, this will be another learning curve they’ll all have to get through. It won’t be easy, but at least he had some of the team to probably rely on for support.

He felt stupid now because he wasn’t sure if he let his thoughts get the better of him. With all of his thoughts swirling and winding around in his head, it’s hard to tell if he came to the belief that they were trying to replace him or not. He was letting his emotions take over and he wasn’t thinking straight anymore. Everything he had been fuming about while in the safety of his room confused him now and he wasn’t sure what he was thinking about. Everything felt unclear and disconnected now that he was stopped in his tracks by his friends wanting to make sure he’s all right.

“Is there anything on your mind that we could help out with?” Hunk asked. He folded his hands together in front of his body but didn’t make to move closer. Keith glanced over at him from the corner of his eye, urging him to continue speaking if there was anything left for him to say. Hunk eyes lit up when he realized he was given the  _ okay _ to keep going, and he added, “We’re here for you if you need to talk about stuff. We’ll always be here to listen and offer you the support you need.”

Shrugging, Keith sighed when he let his eyes return to glaring down at the floor. The sentiment was nice and he welcomed it without saying as much. He just . . . felt things were going to be different between him and everyone from now on. He was different and wanted to put it behind him. But he also wanted to embrace it like Shiro had said. Keith squeezed the bridge of his nose to think. He really needed to figure out what he really wanted out of this and make sure he had everything in check before doing something rash like storming out here the way he did. If they cared about him this much and wanted him to stay in the group, it’s a relief at least to know that his title as the red paladin seemed to be secure in his hands. But the fact that he didn’t seem to have everyone on his side left him with disdain sitting on his chest. He could tell that Allura wasn’t happy that he was something she only knew to hate. He didn’t want to force her to like him since the Galra were the ones who killed her father and destroyed her home planet. She had every right to be angry at the Galra . . . and she might as well start learning to hate him too.

Keith’s mouth twitched at the thought of Allura hating him. He should be used to such a feeling since he wasn’t ever anyone’s favorite person while he grew up on Earth. The only one who gave a damn about him was Shiro, and after he had disappeared during the Kerberos mission, it felt like he was left completely alone in a world where everyone was out to get him. He just wanted to find a place where he was accepted. He thought he had finally found that place here in the castleship with his friends, and he wished the princess could accept him for who he was, but if she wanted to hold grudges against him for his heritage, he won’t stop her from doing so.

“I don’t know what to do with myself now,” Keith said. He hunched his shoulders close to his ears and stood as still as possible. Coran and Pidge were the next ones to stand up to come over and offer their silent moral support. It was strange having everyone around him. It was almost like they were trying to prove to him that they cared about him and they wanted him to know that he had friends who wished he was comfortable and happy. “I just . . . I want . . .” Nothing made sense in his mind. He spouted out random words and tried to string them together into sentences but they fell apart once they left his mouth. No amount of glue could help keep his thoughts together to form a complete sentence. He couldn’t say anything without stammering. Nothing was unable to be said by him and he decided he should stop trying to talk.

A firm hand settled onto his shoulder and he looked up to see Shiro smiling down at him. Another hand came up behind him to clap him on the back. Keith turned to see Hunk standing beside him with a similar grin. Lance and Pidge stood next to Shiro and Coran stepped up to stand behind Hunk. He pinched the end of his mustache and gave Keith a fine grin to let him know all would be well in due time.

All eyes turned on Allura, who still remained seated on the couch. She was watching them, but the angry face she had on a moment ago relaxed into something more neutral. Keith blinked at her, and when she realized he was looking at her, she made to stand up. Instead of walking over to him to join the group, she turned to make for the door on the opposite side of the room.

“I’m sorry, but I’m going to need some time by myself right now. I hope you can understand. We should get some rest since we have to work on building the teledav tomorrow.” Her voice wavered as she gave the orders. Almost as if she couldn’t believe what had happened and she needed to find a way out of the conversation before she said or did something she might regret. Keith didn’t blame her, and he kept his mouth shut to keep himself from doing anything he might regret later as well. Better to keep quiet now and stay out of Allura’s way for the time being.

“Don’t worry, she should come around eventually,” Shiro said in an uncertain tone. Keith didn’t care if it took Allura a phoeb to finally accept him for what he was. So long as she came around at all, he’ll be happy to know that she supported him and won’t pin him with the rest of the Galrans. However long it might take, he’ll let her decide how to look at him on her own.

They watched as she left the room with the door shutting behind her. Stepping away from Keith, they slowly took back their original places before he came barging into the lounge area. There were a few passing glances and encouraging smiles. Pidge told him to not worry about Allura right now. Lance said she just needed some time to think. And Hunk piped up with an offer of making something for Keith since he probably hadn’t eaten anything since coming back from the Blade of Marmora trials. It had been a few hours after he and Shiro came back, now that he realized it.

Keith accepted Hunk’s offer since he was sure the yellow paladin wasn’t going to stop bothering him. Keith didn’t think he had the energy in him to argue about not being hungry right now, but if it’ll get Hunk off his back about it, then he’ll eat some food to make him happy.

Hunk left the room to run off toward the castleship’s kitchen. Coran left to attend to the main engine room to do a diagnostic test to ensure the castle was still running properly, if only to excuse himself from the situation he probably wasn’t well-versed in helping with. That left Keith alone in the room with Lance, Pidge, and Shiro.

“Hey, you okay?” Shiro asked when he noticed Keith stood by the door he had originally came into. He hadn’t moved since he barged in early.

Keith absently scratched at his arms, wondering what to do with himself right now. He peeked up at Shiro from underneath his bangs. With a kind gesture, Shiro guided Keith to the couch so they could all sit together. The idea didn’t sound too appealing at first, but once he sat down with Shiro on his right and Pidge on his left, he felt a little bit better. Lance scooted across the couch to come up next to Pidge to be included as well.

“Look, it doesn’t matter, alright?” Shiro stretched his arm out to hug Keith against his shoulder. Keith gave him half a smile at the motion without looking up at him. Shiro’s hand squeezed him and he said, “Just know that it doesn’t bother me that your not exactly human. I mean, look at me! My arm isn’t human anymore.” He held out his robotic arm to show what he meant, but Keith already knew what he was talking about. “It’s Galran technology, so we might as well be in the same boat, somewhat, right? Don’t worry about what Allura or anyone else thinks about this right now, okay? You’ll always be Keith. Now you just have to work on getting used to this new information about yourself.”

“Yeah,” Lance agreed. He leaned over Pidge to hold Keith’s shoulder as well, but his hand fell on top of Shiro’s hand without realizing he was already there. Lance’s hand fell down a little to grab Keith by the top part of his bicep instead. “Like Shiro said, we just gotta learn to accept who we are. Come on, hot-head, don’t let this stuff get you down or anything.”

Keith rolled his eyes at Lance trying to cheer him up and he kept his mouth shut. It was nice to know they cared about him at least.

It was Pidge’s turn to smile and offer support now. She patted the top of Keith’s hand to get his attention, and once she had it, she said, “We all have our quirks and differences, but it doesn’t mean it should divide us from our main mission. We’re here to help defend the universe, and you having Galran blood in your body won’t be a gamestopper.” She smacked her hand on Keith’s chest to make sure he was listening and she was the first to stand up. “Come on, we’re not going to get much done sulking around and waiting for Allura to hopefully change her mind about how she sees you. If we’re going to get any progress done, we might as well do something other than sitting around and doing nothing.”

“Pidge is right.” Lance pushed himself up next and waited for Keith and Shiro to stand. Shiro unlooped his arm from around Keith and got up as well, leaving Keith the only one still sitting on the couch. When the red paladin made no move to get up, Lance held out a hand to help him. Keith refused the offer by pushing Lance’s hand away and pressing himself against the back of the seat and crossing his arms again. He didn’t feel like getting up. Lance shrugged and took his leave, exiting through the door where Keith had entered a while ago.

Pidge excused herself from the room as well and went off to help Hunk in the kitchen.

Shiro leaned in to smack Keith on the shoulder. “Come on, stop thinking about it. No use in letting it run you into the ground worrying about it. Maybe we can help Hunk out. You should do something other than sit here and let your thoughts get the better of you.”

Keith nodded and let out a deep sigh. He looked up to take Shiro’s offered hand to help him stand up. At least he has his fellow paladins who seem to still care about him. Keith held onto that hand like his very existence depended on it. It felt like it was the only thing keeping him grounded at the moment. Once on his feet, he made himself release Shiro’s hand despite wanting to keep holding on.

Shiro bristled at that and wrapped a friendly arm back around Keith. Once Keith tilted his head to look over at the man, Shiro told him, “However long it takes for Allura to come to her own, just know that you have the rest of us if you ever need to talk to someone about anything. And just so you know, it doesn’t matter where we come from. We can’t change our race or heritage or whatever even if we tried. Don’t let yourself worry about it, all right?”

Nodding his head at Shiro’s words, Keith agreed. He took his eyes off of Shiro and stepped out of his embrace. He wasn’t sure what to do or say to end the conversation, so he told Shiro he was thankful that he had friends who cared for him, and that he hoped that him being not entirely human anymore wouldn’t change how they saw him after all of this.


End file.
